Kotobuki Theater

ZephyrMan waved goodbye to the viruses as they were transferred, not even flinching as he was shot up with money. That the barrels of their weapons were unusually sparkly before being fired helped in that regard. Once they were gone, he gathered up the data, and sent it over to the PET. "I can't say I was expecting the money...but I won't complain about it!"

"I'm just happy they're safe and sound now! And that we finally found some viruses that accepted...it's not a waste of time after all!"

"Indeed. So, what say you? Shall we proceed? Or shall we stop?"

"I say...proceed! Not like it's too tough for us, or like we've got much else to do!"

"Sounds reasonable. Very well, let us continue!" And thus did the windy Navi delve even deeper into his home region of the internet.

(Searching for Battle #4)
ZephyrMan walked onwards and found a large pit of Furnace Terrain surrounded by concrete. In the middle, spreading the coals around, were a trio of Flamey. A Drixol was hard at work drilling through a section of the fire pit for some reason. And a pair of BigHats and another Drixol were just watching the others.

However, one of the BigHats noticed the Navi and warned his fellow viruses of an intruder.

-Viruses-
BigHatA: 100HP [Normal]
BigHatB: 100HP [Normal]
DrixolA: 90HP [Normal]
DrixolB: 90HP [Furnace]
FlameyA: 60HP [Furnace]
FlameyB: 60HP [Furnace]
FlameyC: 60HP [Furnace]

-Terrain-
70% Normal [Surrounding Concrete]
30% Furnace [Fire Pit]

-Navi-
ZephyrMan: 120HP [Normal]

~Battle 4: Start!!~
Unfortunately, based on their activities, ZephyrMan could tell that these viruses were most likely not going to listen to him like the last group did. They were quite clearly malicious, and that just would not do. "It would seem that battling will be required this time!"

"That's a shame...well, not really, if they're wrecking up my home's Net. They've gotta go! So, any ideas on how to do that? Or do you just want to go in, guns ablazing and whatnot?"

"Mmm...send me that DoubleBeam chip. Depending on its results, our strategy could be entirely altered!"

Ariel took a moment to think about what her Navi had just said. Something didn't sound right about that...aha! "You just can't think of a good strategy, and this'll basically decide it for you, right?"

"Quite perceptive! That's correct, though I don't care to admit it."

"Knew it!" She would've looked a bit silly if she was wrong, though..."Well, let's figure out the plan! BattleChip, DoubleBeam! Slot in!"

A DoubleCube formed in front of the windy Navi, and began to rapidly switch between being blue and red colored. As had been stated, his entire battle plan hinged on the result. If it was red and damaged everything, he could pick them off from a distance in relative comfort. If it was blue and his prior injury was healed, he could charge in and destroy them with little fear of being harmed. It all hinged on the winds of fate...

[Order of Turn:
1-DBLBeam1 chip attack (Produces one of the following effects: 40, A, To-All Enemies; 30, S, Recovery)
---TURN SPLICE---
The DBLCube flashes red, then blue...then red...then blue again...and then back to red and stays there. A storm of tiny, dart-like red beams fires from all sides of the cube, lancing into the virus group and needling each of them alike with painful, stinging laser blasts. Angered, a BigHat tosses a small bomblet onto the battlefield, where it sits innocently, seemingly harmless if not for the intrinsic fact that a virus very obviously tossed it at ZephyrMan.

-Viruses-
BigHatA: 60HP [Normal]
BigHatB: 60HP [Normal]
DrixolA: 50HP [Normal]
DrixolB: 50HP [Furnace]
FlameyA: 20HP [Furnace]
FlameyB: 20HP [Furnace]
FlameyC: 20HP [Furnace]

-Objects-
FlashBomb: 20HP [1 Turn to detonation]

-Terrain-
70% Normal [Surrounding Concrete]
30% Furnace [Fire Pit]

-Navi-
ZephyrMan: 120HP [Normal]
Thus, the random powers that be chose an offensive approach for him, as the lasers proved less than harmless for his adversaries. ZephyrMan looked on for a moment, watching one of his foes fling a flash bang forward, and landed not too far from him. He knew he'd have to either get out of its range, or destroy it, soon enough, but as he recalled, he had a little time before that was a problem. Which meant that, for now, he could worry solely about his enemies.

"So, have any ideas? I can't think of any clever strategy or anything, myself."

"Mmm...well, for now, I shall do...this!" The windy Navi raised his arms and focused, creating a sudden gust of wind around one of the Flamey. He just needed to manipulate the air to move it, and form a straight line of the fire viruses...and then...this! After moving, the air around it began to turn violent, quickly turning into a small tornado. But it was one with an odd property; if it managed to fully form around the first Flamey, it'd split in two, and each would move towards the other two of its kind, and attempt to give them a similar fate.

As for the others...well, he had an idea that wasn't the most efficient, but it'd be fun to watch. "Come to think of it, have we ever used that Binder chip?"

"Dunno. Wanna try it out?"

"Let's!"

Okay then. Binder was...the one with the picture of the music note virus. That didn't seem very bind-y...but, it'd probably make more sense after they used it. "BattleChip, Binder! Slot in!"

A Melody virus formed in front of ZephyrMan, who quickly pointed at the BigHat that'd gotten a bomb off already. At least, he thought that was the one...he'd been so focused on the beam that he didn't really notice which one had actually thrown it, and by design, they looked identical...well, either way. The summoned attack immediately performed a huge bounce, to try and land on the sunglasses wearing virus. And then, it was anyone's guess, as it was now beyond the Navi's control. At least he knew it wouldn't go after him. It was smart enough to focus solely on enemies.

While watching the music note hop around was amusing, though, the windy Navi knew enough to keep an eye on the opposing viruses, so that he could try and not get harmed any farther by them.

---TURN SPLICE---
1a-Gust subtype ability on FlameyB; move it to form a straight line with the other Flamey (Push/Pull, whichever one achieves that)
2-Split Tornado sig attack on FlameyB (20, Spread 2) (Spread Targets: FlameyA, FlameyC)
3-Binder1 chip attack on BigHatA (60, D, hits 4 times, all hits after the first randomly target enemies)
4-Dodge]
Without giving the viruses any more time to respond, ZephyrMan moves right in to setting up and knocking down. A strong gust pulls the middle-most Flamey into line with the nearer one, but the third, off to the side a bit more is having none of that. It's stubbornness is vindicated moments later as ZephyrMan's tornado efficiently scrubs out the other two.

Rather than wait around to experience a similar punishment, it leap up high in order to burrow into the furnace beneath it. Meanwhile, the summoned Melody was being incredibly enthusiastic in its bouncing... but enthusiasm can't really seem to make up for aiming, and it has a marvellous time jumping about on empty panels and failing utterly to inconvenience anyone at all. Oh to be a carefree musical note.

A rumble in the ground beneath ZephyrMan announces the return of the Flamey, but having no feet, he finds it particularly easy to get out of its way before its re-emergence can do any harm.

The two BigHats seem quite amused by the inaccurate bouncing of the Melody all around them, but after another moment, they realise it was actually intended to hurt them further, and grow quite miffed at the navi. The second one flings its FlashBomb as well, and this seems to act as some sort of last straw signal for the two Drixols. One is quicker off the mark than the other, diving towards ZephyMan without taking time to line itself up.

Flying past him at speed, it blinks to another edge for a second try. This attempt is far more on target, but ZephyrMan moves easily, demonstrating that he knows how to Be The Leaf, as well as the wind that guides it. Unfortunately, skilful evasion of the first Drixol leaves him blindsided to the second, which manages to wing him both on its first pass, and its second. (-20) (-20)

-Viruses-
BigHatA: 60HP [Normal]
BigHatB: 60HP [Normal]
DrixolA: 50HP [Normal]
DrixolB: 50HP [Normal]
FlameyA: DELETED
FlameyB: DELETED
FlameyC: 20HP [Normal]

-Objects-
FlashBombA: 20HP [1 Turn to Detonation]
FlashBombB: 20HP [1 Turn to Detonation]

-Terrain-
65% Normal [Surrounding Concrete]
25% Furnace [Fire Pit]
10% Broken [Flamey's holes; one in the furnace the other behind ZephyrMan]

-Navi-
ZephyrMan: 80HP [Normal]
"Gah!" The viruses' attack was too well coordinated, and while he managed to avoid the first Drixol, the second one showed him just what it was like to have a drill run through you. Twice. "That...was a feeling I wish to never experience again!"

"Well, that's a double bummer! Not just you getting drilled, but the pink goop's all worn off now! And I was all warm and tingly from it, too..."

"Truthfully, the latter's not much of a concern for me right now..." His more immediate focus was that of 'make sure what just happened, doesn't happen again'. And to that end, he began to stir up the air before him, creating a small whirlwind. And with a simple point of his finger, it spun forward, aiming to crash right into the remaining Flamey. Normally, it had the benefit of flinging what it hit either away or towards him, as he willed...but he didn't bother applying it this time, since it was rather pointless to move a deleted virus.

It was, however, extremely useful to move a virus that wasn't deleted. ZephyrMan swiped the air, stirring up a sudden gust to knock his drill-based attackers closer together. He wasn't positive which one had been the one to bore through him, but hopefully he'd knocked that one as a sort of minor revenge. Of course, on its own, it did nothing. He'd need some offense to make it more meaningful. "Ariel, send forth LilBomb!"

"LilBomb? We have a chip called that?" Um...that was Burner. Fan...Hurricane...RingZap? That was too far...oh, that was a Beetank, wasn't it? And they shot bombs...that must be it. "Found it! BattleChip, LilBomb! Slot in!"

A small blue sphere with a single green stripe across the middle formed in the Navi's right hand. It actually looked like a simple MiniBomb at a glance...or at a closer look, as the two looked basically identical. On the inside, however, it had more explosives in it, and more tightly packed. While this didn't mean it was any stronger, it did provide a much more satisfying boom. Clutching it tightly, he reared back, and flung it at the Drixol pair, to try and finish them off before they tried to make more holes in him. He'd had more than enough of that.

In fact, he'd had more than enough of damage in general. He looked over the pair of bombs that had been thrown his way, and grimaced. He wasn't sure how big their range was...but there was a chance it was too big to escape from. He extended an arm forward, getting his aim fixed even before his request. "Shotgun, please!"

Shotgun...now that one she knew. Just had to make sure to grab one with the one blast behind it, and not the two off to the side...it was a good thing they made the effort to make the guns visibly distinct, or else probably she'd mess it up at some point. "'K! BattleChip, Shotgun, slot in!"

ZephyrMan's hand rapidly transformed into a blue buster-like gun, with a black tip, and a black stripe splitting it into two halves. He'd already prepared himself, so all he had to do was shoot, and erase the FlashBombs from memory. Of course, given the way the Net could be at times, that was easier said than done.

[Order of Turn:
1-Storm Spin sig attack on FlameyC (40, Shot, Knockback)
1a-Gust subtype ability on DrixolB (Knockback near DrixolA)
2-LilBomb chip attack on DrixolA and DrixolB (80, C, Blast 2)
3-Shotgun chip attack on FlashBombA (50, A, Spread 1) (Spread Target:
---TURN SPLICE---
Overly weary of unwanted penetration, ZephyrMan got more serious, tearing the last Flamey apart before it could do anything and vengefully bashing the two Drixols together, close to each other as they already were. They turned to face him, only to find themselves looking at the bomb that landed between them. This lasted for only a moment, before it went off. By sheer chance, one of the BigHats picked this exact moment to move over and hide behind the two drills, waiting for its flash to explode, and also got caught in the blast.

Hoping to avoid a nasty stun, ZephyrMan took a careful line-up on the two flash bombs on the field, and with only a single BigHat running harmlessly around the edge of the fire pit, he had some relative calm with which to make the shot count.


-Viruses-
BigHatA: DELETED
BigHatB: 60HP [Normal]
DrixolA: DELETED
DrixolB: DELETED
FlameyA: DELETED
FlameyB: DELETED
FlameyC: DELETED


-Objects-
FlashBombA: DELETED
FlashBombB: DELETED


-Terrain-
65% Normal [Surrounding Concrete]
25% Furnace [Fire Pit]
10% Broken [Flamey's holes; one in the furnace the other behind ZephyrMan]

-Navi-
ZephyrMan: 80HP [Normal] [1 Action Remaining]
That...may be a first. Not only did everything go exactly as planned, but he actually managed to delete MORE viruses than he was aiming at. ZephyrMan needed a moment just to process that. "I...well, then! That was quite the unexpected boon! Shall I go ahead and end this?"

"You shall...not!"

"And why not?"

"Because, I wanna patch you up! It's no good if you're too hurt to keep going!" This time, she knew exactly which chip was the one she wanted. Admittedly, the pink, sparkly background helped. "BattleChip, Recover50! Slot in!"

The windy Navi began to glow pink, as some of his wounds began to self-heal. Most notably, the pain of repeatedly being rammed by a drill squid vanished, making it all seem like a bad memory. Of course, thanks to how the Net worked, it literally WAS just a bad memory now. "I suppose this is also a good recourse. My thanks!" Now he just needed to figure which weapon in his arsenal was good at removing BigHats...


---TURN SPLICE---
4-Recover50 chip on ZephyrMan (50, S, Recovery)]
In the moment of quiet after the carnage, ZephyrMan received some recovery support and got himself patched up before preparing for more action... though there wasn't a lot of fight left either way, it would seem.


-Viruses-
BigHatA: DELETED
BigHatB: 60HP [Normal]
DrixolA: DELETED
DrixolB: DELETED
FlameyA: DELETED
FlameyB: DELETED
FlameyC: DELETED


-Objects-
FlashBombA: DELETED
FlashBombB: DELETED


-Terrain-
65% Normal [Surrounding Concrete]
25% Furnace [Fire Pit]
10% Broken [Flamey's holes; one in the furnace the other behind ZephyrMan]

-Navi-
ZephyrMan: 130HP [Normal]
"That's much better!" ZephyrMan's whirlwinds began to spin with newfound vigor, now that he wasn't smarting from the Drixol attack anymore. He glanced at the last virus...it showed no signs of surrender, so it seemed his work wasn't yet finished. "Very well then, if you wish to fight to the end, I shall grant your wish!" He sped over to the other battle participant, taking care to not fall in any holes. Not that he needed to; one was behind him, and the other was over in the pit, where he wasn't going. But it was always wise to be extra cautious.

"Oh, I know how we can end this!" Ariel happily bounced around on the bench, which would probably please any nearby men in the area. "We can do that big tornado thing we did earlier! I bet it can't avoid a storm that big!"

"Sounds like a fine idea!" He was actually quite pleased that she suggested it on her own. It meant she was learning to be a more proactive operator. "Send it at your ready!"

Fortunately, while she couldn't recall exactly what they used at first, she DID remember that it used two chips with the same basic picture. And other than Shotgun/SideGun, which definitely wasn't it, there was only one pair of chips she owned that fit that description. It felt like she could do more, though...luckily, there was one chip that worked with pretty much anything. And in it went, too. "BattleChip, Typhoon! Hurricane! Attack+10! Triple slot in!"

In a rather odd move, ZephyrMan did not raise his arms, or motionlessly try to summon winds. Instead, he simply made sure to face the BigHat, then bent over. Once the chip data was within him, he immediately began to expel it through the tornado on his head, which suddenly increased in power and size. Every so often, a stronger pulse of wind energy was expelled, strong enough to do damage. And time did nothing to weaken the storm; if anything, thanks to the power boosting chip, it only grew stronger as it continued, as did the bursts of wind. The Navi began to noticably strain, however, as he struggled to continue, despite the chips' power running low. "Hrrgh...raaaaaargh!" And a final gale came forth, perhaps the strongest of all of them. In addition to having the extra strength, it had the power to knock what it hit off its feet...not that he expected that to be necessary. It was mostly to show off, at this point. As his head tornado returned to its original size and intensity, he had to stop and collect his breath for a moment. That one had taken a fair amount out of him. "I suppose one could call that...a brainstorm! Ho ho ho!"

"Um, y-yeah..."

"Hmm?" The windy Navi turned on the operator display window. Oddly, said operator was blushingly slightly, with her free hand pressed tightly against her bosom. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no, it's nothing..."

[Order of Turn:
1-Move near BigHatB (Movement)
2-Typhoon chip attack on BigHatB (30, ?, Wind Type, hits 3 times, accuracy dependant on RP)
2a-Gust subtype ability on Hurricane (Knockback added to last hit)
3-Hurricane chip attack on BigHatB (30+10, ?, Wind Type, hits 5 times, accuracy dependant on RP) (Knockback added to last hit)
4-Attack+10 chip on Hurricane chip (10, S, adds 10 power to all hits of previous chip)]
The BigHat, unwilling to accept his own demise, still throws one more FlashBomb at the advancing Navi. Even so, the bomb does the virus absolutely no good, vanishing the instant the virus is engulfed in a howling gale. With the last virus very literally blown to smithereens, the battle is well and truly won.

-Viruses-
BigHatA: DELETED
BigHatB: M-M-M-MONSTER KILL
DrixolA: DELETED
DrixolB: DELETED
FlameyA: DELETED
FlameyB: DELETED
FlameyC: DELETED

-Objects-
FlashBombA: DELETED
FlashBombB: DELETED

-Terrain-
65% Normal [Surrounding Concrete]
25% Furnace [Fire Pit]
10% Broken [Flamey's holes; one in the furnace the other behind ZephyrMan]

-Navi-
ZephyrMan: 130HP [Normal]

=BATTLE #4: VICTORIOUS!!=
Rewards: 1200z
With a snap of his fingers, ZephyrMan transferred the newfound wealth over to his operator's PET. Well, relative wealth. It was a lot for busting, but by Ariel's standards, it was pocket change. "I suppose that could've gone worse, all things considered."

"It could've gone a lot, lot worse..."

"Indeed!...You still look a bit red in the face. Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong at all! Nope, I'm peachy!"

"You look more cherry than peachy, quite frankly..." ...Did she just turn a little more red, or was that just his imagination? "But, I digress. Shall we continue?"

"Don't see why not!"

"Mmm...well, I've been in here long enough that we'll encounter something strange pretty soon. We'd best be ready for anything!"

"It's been that long? Huh, I hadn't even noticed!"

"Indeed it has. Realizing this, shall I move along?"

"Ready for takeoff!"

"As you wish!" While he couldn't take flight, ZephyrMan could get a move on...so he did.

(Ready for Battle #5)
((And Boss-Locked))

If ZephyrMan had wanted to avoid the weird and unusual, then he probably ought to have avoided this particular path. As it was though, the windy navi hadn't gone much further before stumbling onto a quite peculiar situation indeed.

A long causeway stretched out before him, one long furnace with heat mirage rising off it. To each side, a number of coal pits were spaced at even intervals, but they seemed to be acting as furnace fires, rather than simply coal; each was burning with a slow, hot fire, and any ideas of standing on them were probably not so wise.

These features, however, were the sorts of little side things that one fails to notice when something much more pressing is taking up the field of vision. In this case, that something appears to be a large red volcano, situated at the far end of the furnace. There's really no other way to describe the... whatever it is. Other than, perhaps, grumpy. It easily takes up the entire width of the furnace where it sits, rocky slopes rising high towards a cratered peak that smokes and spits, three or four times the height of a normal navi off the ground. The face of the small mountain was, indeed, a face: two glowing gaps up high made for slanted, grouchy eyes, while closer to the base a large jagged crag yawned, and... chewed?

Perhaps the oddest part of this entire scene was the fact that a cluster of fearful, scurrying metools were running back and forth from the two nearest coal pits, to the hungry mouth of the volcano, their pick-axes replaced with large coal shovels. They seemed to be frantically feeding the angry mountain large shovel-fulls of the flaming coals, which it chewed and devoured, grumbling all the while. More little yellow helmets were standing by the other coal pits, vigorously fanning them with large fans, keeping the fires high.

Upon seeing ZephyrMan, the Volcano paused in its chewing, drew itself up slightly, and bellowed a craggy roar. The metools panicked, running into each other, falling over and most of them dropped their fans and shovels in dismay. At once, they all began to flee the area as fast as their little feet could carry them. The volcano seemed to inhale deeply, now that the fires weren't being fanned, and the action seemed somehow, to draw off and quench the furthest remaining fires, as though they'd been sucked away.

Several of the fleeing metools weren't quite fast enough in getting away, and the next time the Volcano opened its mouth, a blast of roaring fire scorched about a third of the way up the furnace panels, covering the entire width of the space and reducing the few that couldn't get out in time, to ash. Poor things. It roared again, rumbled for a moment, then launched three flaming chunks of burning magma from its crown, only for them to splash down onto the furnace panels randomly, much further out than its initial fiery breath. The burning ring of fire where they landed continued to smoulder for a few moments before finally fading away.

-=Angry Mountain!=-

VolcanicFurnace: 300Hp [Furnace][Eruption Draw: 2/10]

-=Windy Interloper!=-

ZephyrMan.Exe: 130Hp [Furnace]

-=Terrain=-

Coal: 8 Panels [Evenly spaced, on either side of the area][Burning Coals]
Coal: 2 Panels [Furthest two Coal panels from Boss][Hot Embers]
Furnace: Long stretch, 4 panels wide between the coal pits, and 10 long, leading up to the base of the boss. Everywhere that is not Coal, is Furnace.

-=Notes=-

[Burning Coals] These coals are actually a burning fire, and should not be stepped on unless you're a fire-elemental. Any non-fire Elemental will take an immediate 20 fire damage, and be afflicted with Burn(5), with will last until put out, or for 3 turns after the victim leaves the burning coals.

[Hot Embers] Coals were recently burning, but now are not. Safe to stand on for one turn, but a strong wind will re-ignite the embers, returning them to Burning Coals. Non-fire elementals who remain on Hot Embers for two turns or more will take 5 Fire damage each turn they remain there. Stepping off the embers for a whole turn will reset this.


-=Battle 5, Start!=-
The sight of the large...thing before him brought ZephyrMan to an instant halt. He wasn't entirely sure how process such a monstrosity..."What on earth IS that?"

"Isn't there, like, a virus called Volcano? Couldn't it just be a giant version of that?"

'Yes, but this doesn't look quite the same. I'd wager it's something different entirely."

"It's weird, if you ask me...it looks like it'd be more fitting in Hades or something. It just doesn't feel quite right in a place like Kotobuki. ...Does that make any sense?"

"Quite a bit, actually. It's as though it's actively trying to be detrimental to the area's desire for happiness..." The pair were interrupted by the mighty roar of the future volcanic foe, which drove the Mettaur into a frenzy. But, wait, it looked like they were...running away? And it was inhaling...oh, no. "No! You'll be-"

Before the windy Navi could do anything to help, several of the viruses were incinerated by its flames. Many Navis would probably consider that a plus...but not him. He angrily clenched his hands into fists, then glared at the sentient volcano. "Unforgivable! To so destroy one's allies in such a cavalier fashion...I shall make you answer for your misdeed!" He nigh literally stormed off at the flaming enemy, as fast as his lower body whirlwind would let him. "Ariel! Something like this is most certainly attuned with fire...we should cool it off!"

"With wind? ...Wait, no." Hang on, he said fire. And Fire was weak to...Aqua. And they only had one chip of that element...but if they were fortunate, it alone could do the job. "I got it now! BattleChip, AquaBlade! Slot in!"

"Hmph! Prepare to be cut down to size!" ZephyrMan's right hand disappeared, causing a blue sword hilt to form. From that base, a pair of long metal blades formed next to each other, each coated in a cool blue aura. He raised his sword high as he approached the sentient volcano, and downward slashed with it, ideally leaving the monster with a couple of slash marks, and a nice HP reduction. Placing his weapon across his body, he then performed a more horizontal cut...but, if he was fortunate, that would be it. The small but mighty water blades would leave their mark so much that it spontaneously burst into nothing. But the Net rarely went so smoothly...so he turned right around and tried to get out of the previous blast range, where the Mettaur met their tragic end. As he did so, he placed his non-weaponized hand behind him, and summoned a gust of wind to aid his speedy movement.

Once he was out of the biggest danger zone, he turned back toward the creature, and took a look at his litereal sword arm. Two swipes were all it could handle; the water aura was gone, and its blades were dull. He casually changed it back to his normal hand, and prepared for evasive maneuvers, if his hunch that it wouldn't be that easy was correct.

[Order of Turn:
1-AquaBlade chip attack on VolcanicFurnace (100, Aqua, B, Slashing, Long Attack)
2-AquaBlade chip attack on VolcanicFurnace (100, Aqua, B, Slashing, Long Attack)
3-Get out of flame breath range (movement)
3a-Gust subtype ability on ZephyrMan (Knockback away from VolcanicFurnace)
4-Dodge]
ZephyrMan rushes the grouchy volcano with a truly admirable amount of vengeful zeal, aqua blades ready to deliver justice with extreme force. As he dashes in, the virus begins to inhale deeply again, drawing in until the second set of flames wink out and are sucked away. There's a deep rumble from within the Volcano's insides as its latent power grows.

The windy navi reaches it a moment later, lashing out fiercely with his blades, and, being a large, immobile rock-face, there's little the virus can do to avoid it. The blade cuts with a hiss, but not as deeply as it probably should have. There's definitely water quenching fire going on there, and the volcano bellows an ear-piercing roar as steam rises from the impressive gash marking its body, but it only really seems to have done as much damage as you might expect any other blade to. Its body, being large, solid and rocky, is simply too hard to take normal damage, it seems. [Discovered: HardBody!]. Even so, it's quite a scar, and the hiss continues as the furnace beneath the injured mountain cools to solid metal.

Zephyr isn't done, however, and follows up with a second, equally vicious water slash. Like before, striking a deep gash across the side of the mountain and causing it to begin crumbling badly. It roars and shrieks again, one eye ruined beyond recognising now and begins drawing a breath, opening its maw wide with the clear intention of blasting the painful, stinging navi with an incinerating jet of flame. That hissing, water sound hasn't stopped...

There's a low groaning, creaking sound that echoes through the hazy area. A spider-web of cracks fan through the fast-cooled metal underneath the volcano, then, with an horrendous crash, the entire mountain simply... drops.

It falls several feet straight down into the collapsed panels, leaving only its one remaining eye glaring out above the lip of the large hole. There's a glow, and the sound of scorching flame, but with its mouth obscured, it can't vaporise anyone. On the other hand, the hiss of water has now become a dense, foggy cloud floating over and around the exposed upper face of the volcano.

As Zephyrman dashes back out of the range of the Mountain's now neutralised fire breath, it rumbled and launches another set of three burning rocks at the navi instead. They crash down and leave burning circles to either side of him and one lands right where he would have been, if not for a very fortunate dodge that just clears him from harm.



-=Angry Mountain!=-

VolcanicFurnace: 100Hp [Dropped!][HardBody][Eruption Draw: 4/10]

-=Windy Interloper!=-

ZephyrMan.Exe: 130Hp [Furnace]

-=Terrain=-

Coal: 6 Panels [Evenly spaced, on either side of the area][Burning Coals]

Coal: 4 Panels [Furthest two Coal panels from Boss][Hot Embers]

Furnace: Long stretch, 4 panels wide between the coal pits, and 10 long, leading up to the base of the boss. Everywhere that is not Coal, is Furnace.

Broken: Mountain is in a hole now. Well done.

-=Notes=-

[Burning Coals] These coals are actually a burning fire, and should not be stepped on unless you're a fire-elemental. Any non-fire Elemental will take an immediate 20 fire damage, and be afflicted with Burn(5), with will last until put out, or for 3 turns after the victim leaves the burning coals.

[Hot Embers] Coals were recently burning, but now are not. Safe to stand on for one turn, but a strong wind will re-ignite the embers, returning them to Burning Coals. Non-fire elementals who remain on Hot Embers for two turns or more will take 5 Fire damage each turn they remain there. Stepping off the embers for a whole turn will reset this.

Despite striking true with his sword, the malevolent fiery being remained. The only possible explanation was that the blasted thing had some sort of protection...perhaps its craggy exterior was guarding against some of the damage. But ZephyrMan had little time to think on it, as due to his strikes weakening the floor beneath it, it suddenly fell down, with the bonus of not being incinerated thanks to the fact. His evasive maneuvers proved successful as well. Now he just needed to land the coup de grace. And he knew just the way to do that. "I believe you need a lesson on treating one's allies with respect...and I believe I know just how to teach you!"

Another Navi's emblem appeared on Ariel's PET's screen. She wasn't really sure who it belonged to, though..."Hey, ZephyrMan? Some emblem popped up on my screen. What's up with that?"

"Good! Just approve it, then send me Hurricane! That should be all I'll need!"

"Er, okay..." Button pressed...now what was going to happen?

As it turned, just what she didn't want. A powerful whirlwind covered the Navi, as he started to change. His arms and torso turned green and scaly, and his gloves became blood red. Much of his face became obscured by a helmet, which looked almost like a tyrannosaur's jaw, leaving little other than his eyes visible. In what appeared to be a more painful aspect of the transformation, large claws jutted out from the base knuckles of his hands. Even his traditional tornadoes weren't unaffected, as they appeared to become a more fiery kind of wind. With a mighty roar, he dissipated the winds surrounding him, revealing his new appearance. His bonds with KaijuMan had now manifested as KaijuCross.

"...That's why you didn't tell me what that was, wasn't it? Ugh..."

"Enough talk! More destruction!"

"Yeah, that's kinda scary..." Still, he'd said before doing it that he wanted Hurricane...but it couldn't hurt if she attached some extra power to it, could it? Probably not. "BattleChip, Hurricane! BattleChip, Attack+10! Double slot in!"

"Raaargh!" A white ball formed at the ends of the Navi's new helmet, and it began to increase. As it grew, a red aura surrounded it; it didn't seem fiery, and yet somehow, it made the ball look a bit more powerful, almost. After a few seconds, the ball was ready, and a near beam intense ray of wind shot forth from it, also covered in that strange red aura. The glow's purpose would be made clear if it managed to hit the volcano: it gave it the strength to penetrate that tough exterior. On and on, the beam lasted...enough to deliver 5 separate hits. Unless he'd managed to somehow completely screw it up, that would be all he'd need.

But his instincts told him not to press the attack. With a growl, he prepared to try and avoid anything that might harm him, just in case. Even though the problem should be solved by having destroying it.

[Order of Turn:
1-Activate KaijuCross (Become Fire/Break, +10 to Fire element chips)
1a-Smash subtype ability on Hurricane (adds Break effect to next attack)
2-Hurricane chip attack on VolcanicFurnace (30+10, ?, Wind Type, Break, hits 5 times, accuracy dependant on RP/battle condition)
3-Attack+10 chip on Hurricane (adds 10 to all hits of attached chip)
4-Dodge]
Stuck in its hole and obscured by fog, the mountain inhales. More fires go out, draw in by the volcano, as ZephyrMan begins to change, activating his KaijuCross and still the Volcano inhales, sucking away two more flames. Only the nearest two fires remain now, and a thick, resonating rumble begins to build louder and louder from within the giant virus.

ZephyrMan charges his amplified hurricane, receiving a further boost to the chip's output from his operator, then unleashes the heated tunnel of destructive wind at his half-buried victim. Through the thick vapour cloud, the volcano's one good eye rises wide when it sees what Zephyr is doing, then seems to... shudder. It doesn't shrink exactly, but its eye closes down tight and it seems to squeeze in on itself somewhat, as thought bracing for the incoming tempest.

The wind blast rips across the surface of the panels, tearing into the rocky exterior of the Mountain and shredding it down. The blast cracks of chunks of the virus, sending them flying, until its entire crown has been utterly destroyed. Four of the five main pulses of wind find something to shatter, and it blows away the remnants of the vapour cloud as well, exposing the damage for all to see.

Most of the top of the Mountain has been removed, and streams of thick, boiling magma are beginning to roll down its outer facing to pool tragically around its base and fill up the hole it's stuck in. It's one remaining 'eye' is cracked open across the top, and the lava is pouring from this point much faster than other places. It actually looks a bit like it's crying now, but that's probably just a coincidence.

Against all expectations, however... it does seem to still be alive. Barely. Whatever it did to mitigate the damage seems to have taken most of its remaining energy, however, because it simply bubbles and rumbles in a rather pathetic manner, rather than attacking, as it prepares to inhale the last two flames.


-=Angry Mountain!=-

VolcanicFurnace: 20Hp [Dropped!][HardBody: Inactive!][Eruption Draw: 8/10]


-=Windy Interloper!=-

ZephyrMan.Exe: 130Hp [Furnace][KaijuCross: Fire/Break]

-=Terrain=-

Coal: 2 Panels [Evenly spaced, on either side of the area][Burning Coals]

Coal: 8 Panels [Furthest two Coal panels from Boss][Hot Embers]

Furnace: Long stretch, 4 panels wide between the coal pits, and 10 long, leading up to the base of the boss. Everywhere that is not Coal, is Furnace.

Broken: Mountain is in a hole now. Well done. The hole is also filling up with Lava.

-=Notes=-

[Burning Coals] These coals are actually a burning fire, and should not be stepped on unless you're a fire-elemental. Any non-fire Elemental will take an immediate 20 fire damage, and be afflicted with Burn(5), with will last until put out, or for 3 turns after the victim leaves the burning coals.

[Hot Embers] Coals were recently burning, but now are not. Safe to stand on for one turn, but a strong wind will re-ignite the embers, returning them to Burning Coals. Non-fire elementals who remain on Hot Embers for two turns or more will take 5 Fire damage each turn they remain there. Stepping off the embers for a whole turn will reset this.
...What? The volcano wasn't dead yet? This caused the already furious ZephyrMan to roar in a blind rage. One thing his KaijuCross did not do well was provide an avenue for deep and meaningful thought. "I WILL destroy you! Hrragh!!" He leaned back, ready to jump right onto the thing and handle it himself...

"Wait!"

His operator's shout managed to make the Navi just docile enough to not go through with it. "What?! I must destroy it! My claws ache for it to rend in two!"

"Can't you keep your distance and do that? Um...like with this!" She wasn't really sure if this would work, but she had to try. "BattleChip, DoubleNeedle! Slot in!"

The middle claws on each of his hands suddenly became extra sharp. ZephyrMan growled as he looked at then, then raised his arms so that they pointed at the fiery entity in front of him. One right after the other, the two claws shot out like missiles, each with the capability to perform the aforementioned rending that he desired so much. After the launching, new claws instantly grew in. He let out a deeper growl...it probably didn't feel so great. "Not enough! More destruction!"

"Um, um...how about...we hang back, and you can watch without actually getting your claws dirty? I've got just the thing!" Oh, please let this work, too..."BattleChip, Binder! Slot in!"

A green egg with red spots suddenly formed in front of the crossed Navi. It almost instantly hatched, creating...what looked like a miniature version of himself. There were no fiery whirlwinds on him, though; instead of hovering, he had a long tail, that coiled into a spring. At first, the original version looked on in disgust, but decided it was better than nothing. "Go forth, and crush that thing!"

"Crush! Crush!" The replica ZephyrMan bounced high into the air, in an attempt to launch right onto the volcano, should the claw attack have failed. One good bounce would end things...and there was enough bounce in him for four good attacks. He didn't have especially good control of the springing, though, so any hits would require just a tiny amount of luck.

Now, would these bring an end to the VolcanicFurnace, or would his desire for destruction yet remain? All he could do for the moment was to stand there and await the answer...

[Order of Turn:
1-DoubleNeedle chip attack on VolcanicFurnace (50, B, hits twice)
2-Binder1 chip attack on VolcanicFurnace (60, D, hits 4 times)
---TURN SPLICE---
Enraged by his foe's stubborn clinging to existence, Kaiju-Zephyr rages mightily on his unquenchable need for ultimate destruction, while his operator hesitates and opts to find a slightly more cautious way of finishing off. The Volcano, blubbering lava and bubbling away now that the magma has filled its hole and obscured its mouth completely, draws in again, extinguishing the last two flames. The deep rumbling builds and the magma running from its ruined crown spits and splutters violently.

Alas for it, ZephyrMan's furious needles rip though it, interrupting its final attack and depleting the last of its HP. Already in the throes of over-loading, its final eruption begins to go wrong, with chunks of rock exploding free in gushes of lava as the pressure builds and releases out of control. There's a rocky, grinding shriek from the virus as it melts down in a violent self-destruction that hurls lava and rock around, shooting short streams in various directions, until eventually, the last of the rock has melted away, and all that's left is a broad lake of fresh magma. That probably would have been unpleasant for ZephyrMan, if he'd been up close and personal with it when it died. As it is, he remains safe, though a last flaming, lava-covered boulder crashes down just to his left, almost like a failed attempt at final spite.

The good news is that this particular molten rock disintegrates into zenny, and within the pile, a fitting legacy of chip data. Without the volcano drawing them in, the coal fires spring to life again, though it likely doesn't mean much.

-=Melted Mountain=-

VolcanicFurnace: Meeeelting! Meeeeeeeeltinnnnngg!! MELTED


-=Windy Victor=-

ZephyrMan.Exe: 130Hp [Furnace][KaijuCross: Fire/Break]

-=Terrain=-

Coal: 10 Panels [Evenly spaced, on either side of the area][Burning Coals]

Furnace: Long stretch, 4 panels wide between the coal pits, and 10 long, leading up to the base of the boss. Everywhere that is not Coal, is Furnace.

Lava: Where once was Mountain, now is Lake.

-=Battle 5 Victory!=-

Spoils: 1350z, LavaCannon1

Quote (LavaCannon1)

Damage: 90 + Lava Panel Boost(+40)
Accuracy: B
Description: Fires a blast of magma from a cannon. If the user is standing on Lava terrain at the time of use, this chip's power is boosted by 40.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire